On Friday, September 15, 2023, at around 9:36 p.m., Troopers from the New Hampshire State Police Troop A Barracks swiftly responded to a distress call concerning a two-vehicle collision on Route 101 East near the Interstate 95 interchange. The collision involved entrapment.
Initial investigations at the crash site revealed that a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, driven by 22-year-old Eric Jenkins of Chandler, Arizona, was traveling in the wrong direction westward on Route 101 East in Hampton. In this divided section of the highway, the Chevrolet collided head-on with a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage, operated by 23-year-old Melisa Kizoglu from Hampton, New Hampshire. Following the impact, the Chevrolet came to a halt on the travel portion of the highway, while the Mitsubishi veered off onto the grass shoulder. As a result of the collision, Kizoglu found herself trapped in the Mitsubishi and was subsequently extricated by emergency responders.
Given that the wreckage and debris spanned the entirety of Route 101 East, Troopers promptly enforced a closure of all travel lanes in the immediate vicinity to facilitate the treatment of the injured and the investigation of the crash scene. Consequently, Troopers from the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit were called in to assist with the crash inquiry.
Jenkins, the operator of the Chevrolet, was taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. Kizoglu, after her extraction from the Mitsubishi, received stabilization at the scene from emergency personnel and was airlifted to a Boston area hospital via Boston Medflight helicopter for treatment of her severe injuries.
All lanes on Route 101 East remained closed at Exit 12, rerouting traffic onto Route 111 and Route 27 in Exeter for approximately three and a half hours. The full reopening of Route 101 East to traffic was accomplished at roughly 1:42 a.m.
Numerous agencies collaborated at the crash site, including Troopers from the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit, the Hampton Police Department, the Hampton Fire Department, Boston Medflight, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and New England Truck Center.